Alby John Varghese, Managing Director of Tamil Nadu Power Generation Corporation Limited, and other officials inspect the Tuticorin Thermal Power Station on Monday, after a fire broke out on Saturday night
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
A team, including the Managing Director of Tamil Nadu Power Generation Corporation Limited (Tangedco) Alby John Varghese, inspected the Tuticorin Thermal Power Station (TTPS), along with other officials and engineers to assess the damage caused by the blaze at the power station on Saturday (March 15, 2025).
A major fire broke out at TTPS, which led to the shutdown of three units with a total capacity of 630 MW. The fire was completely extinguished by Sunday (March 16, 2025) evening.
Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Varghese said the fire had affected the cable gallery, which is an enclosed portion of the power station. He mentioned that the assessment process would take an additional couple of days to fully evaluate the extent of the damage.
Units I and II were affected by fire, while unit III was shut down due to a disruption in supply. Since the damage in unit III is minimal compared to the other two units, the Tangedco is planning to restore it at the earliest and resume the operations within the next three weeks, he added.
Mr. Varghese further noted that the extent of the damage and restoration timeline could be determined only after a complete study of the power station.
As a large amount of metal was involved in the fire, the cooling process is still ongoing, and it will take another day to completely cool down the affected part of the site, he added.
He also mentioned that as far as the electricity was concerned, the Tangedco wanted to expedite the restoration of units I and II.
Currently, units IV and V are operational at the power station, with each having a capacity of 210 MW.
Published – March 17, 2025 05:05 pm IST